Distance, miles, 
Songs of a Land that is not mine 
Pain of exile. 
Let me tell you who I am, 

I am a child of exile. 
I am the child of an encounter 
Ivory Coast held me in its bosom 
Rwanda, today, lets me tread on its soil. 
Melting pot, meeting of cultures, are mine, Me! 
I am diaspora! 
Difference and Tolerance weave my life and blend in harmony. 
Daughter of contrasts and colors 
Of sadness and sweetness 
Of odors and flavors 
Of here and there 
Till today, I only knew the outside 
Other lands and other skies 
Other looks and other smiles. 

Those of my dear ones were just too far— 
Those of yours were not around. 
Today they are no more. 

What a strange destiny is mine! 
What a strange destiny is yours! 

Well, not as strange as that when you reflect… 
There are thousands of us in this case! 

Africans, Asians, Jews, Europeans 

Violence and hatred took us far from our land 
Far from our mothers, far from our fathers. 
Far from our sources, far from our roots 

But today, strength in us and a smile on our face, we say with one voice: Hope is alive! 

The sunset in the hollow of the hills is like a message of the elders. 
They tell us they are happy 
That they at last rest in peace. 
That we made it. 
Over a life covered by night, 
Over a destiny of hatred and pain. 
From the past to the present 
From the present to the future 
We project ourselves into the new 
Ready to work magic every day anew… 
I am, we are, RWANDA.